The following guidelines are intended to serve the Mission Ministry in evaluating requests from the community for funds or support.

RELEVANCE TO OUR CHURCH VISION:

We are a community of Christians who trust in the power of God's love with voices that welcome and sing God's praises, minds that seek God through study and worship, hands that comfort and serve, and hearts that love God, our neighbors and all God's creation.

INVOLVEMENT (AND PASSION) OF CONGREGATION MEMBERS IN AND FOR THE PROJECT/CAUSE:

We encourage our congregation to live out our faith in service to others by getting involved in mission projects. Many church members are extremely passionate about specific causes including peacemaking, homeless ministry, housing repair, service to the elderly, and partnerships with international faith-based organizations. As a result, we often prefer to support a project of organization if a church member is directly involved with, and willing to be an internal champion of, that cause. Organizations and projects with a congregational connection will be favored over simple requests for money, particularly if no one from the church is linked to the organization.

ABILITY TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE:

The Mission Ministry receives many funding requests and petitions for support each year. After narrowing funding requests according to the first two criteria, we often must choose one organization over another. While we would like to fund all remaining organizations, we continue to narrow our selection based on projects and organizations where our contributions can truly have, in our opinion, the largest impact on the organization.

OPPORTUNITY TO FOSTER SPIRITUAL GROWTH IN OUR MEMBERS AND CONGREGATION:

Opportunities may arise when a congregation member feels called to serve and learn through association with a mission-oriented organization. As a result, we occasionally support individual members’ participation in mission projects. In these cases, the funds are offered with the expectation that the individual or group will share their experiences with the congregation, offering insights into what they have learned and how they have grown as a result of their participation.

ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE ORGANIZATION:

The Mission Ministry is called to be responsible stewards of our church’s resources. As a result, we research and investigate, to the best of our abilities, the requesting organization to ensure that it delivers on its mission promise. Annually, or when necessary, we require an accountability report from groups we support stating how our donation was used.